Daily Business Report-Oct. 19, 2018
A DMV office in Oakland. (Photo by Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Behind the DMV ‘Motor Voter’ errors:
The agency was using a piecemeal computer system
By Laurel Rosenhall | CALmatters
The DMV gave the public a series of piecemeal explanations as it acknowledged making more than 100,000 errors in recent months in registering Californians to vote. Software problems, it said in May. Human errors from toggling between computer windows, it said in September. Data entry mistakes that were corrected but never saved, it said this month.
What DMV officials didn’t acknowledge—and still haven’t—was what may be the underlying problem: The agency rolled out a massive new voter-registration effort with a piecemeal computer system.
Instead of the properly integrated computer program that was needed, the agency launched in April with disparate computer systems that didn’t automatically link together, according to advocates who have been working closely with the DMV on the new “motor voter” system. That meant DMV workers had to manually link information from various systems during transactions between April and September, when an integrated system was put in place, said Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause.
All the problems reported so far happened during that period of time.
“What we’re finding out is that they were really patching together an old system with several new systems,” Feng said.
“We still don’t know if… they had planned all along to have an interim process between April and September or if this is something they cobbled together because something wasn’t ready.”
The DMV declined to answer CALmatters’ questions about the computer systems, instead providing a statement saying the motor voter program “has been implemented in phases, allowing DMV to roll out additional functionality.” The latest upgrade, the statement says, was on Sept. 26.
The botched rollout of the motor voter system—which comes as the state prepares for mid-term elections—points to two long-standing problems in California. One is the state government’s pattern of failure on large information technology projects; the other is its history of flouting the federal voter-registration law.
Common Cause and other voter-rights advocacy groups sued the state in 2015, alleging it had failed to follow federal law requiring that states register people to vote and update their voting registrations when they get or renew a driver’s license or ID card. The Legislature then passed a law creating automatic voter registration at the DMV, and the advocacy groups have been working with the government to implement it.
The idea was that rather than duplicating information by filling out a voter-registration form and a driver’s license form, Californians who are legally eligible to vote would automatically be registered when completing the DMV’s computerized application for a driver’s license or ID card.
Since the program launched in April, about 1.4 million Californians have registered to vote or updated their voter registration through the motor voter process—and the DMV has acknowledged three batches of mistakes:
A software error affected 77,000 registrations, resulting, in some cases, in two registration forms indicating different party preferences being issued for one voter (reported in May).
A window-toggling error affected 23,000 registrations, resulting in changes to voters’ party preference, vote-by-mail options and language choices (reported in September).
A data-entry error resulted in 1,500 people being registered to vote even though they are not legally eligible because they are not U.S. citizens, are under 18 or are on parole for a felony conviction (reported this month).
Though the problems are serious, none indicate intentional acts of fraud or hacking. Instead, they appear to be the result of human error and glitchy technology—which officials say are being fixed with software updates and employee training. The secretary of state said erroneous registrations have been canceled and DMV leaders say they’ve put new procedures in place to prevent mistakes in the future.
“We continue to review the efficiency and accuracy of the program and will make additional upgrades as needed,” said the statement from DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla has said the errors amount to a small fraction of the transactions processed by the DMV and maintains that the corrective steps he’s taking, including a third-party review of the motor voter system, “are crucial to ensuring voter confidence in our democracy.” National experts have repeatedly found that voter fraud is isolated and rare.
Still, with the state government run entirely by Democrats, the motor voter problems have fueled Republican arguments that voting systems are plagued by fraud. In a new digital ad this month, Padilla’s GOP opponent Mark Meuser highlights cases of fraudulent voting and says he wants “to end California’s rigged elections.”
The potential for politicizing the problem is why the state government needs to come up with a big picture fix, said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant who is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.
“There is a way to salvage this but it requires not dismissing it as ‘no big deal,’” he said. “The president of the United States is questioning the integrity of our electoral system and we have just legitimized that fear mongering.”
Madrid wants to see a bipartisan commission formed to examine California’s voting system—not only the motor voter problems but also issues like the incident during the June primary when more than 118,000 names were erased from Los Angeles County voter rolls. An audit found that case was caused by a formatting mismatch between state and local computer systems that left blank spaces where dates of birth should have been, causing the computer to misclassify those voters as underaged.
The state’s Department of Finance will examine the motor voter program as part of its audit of the DMV, which has been plagued by numerous problems this year including massive wait times. But critics say that review is insufficient because the Department of Finance, like the DMV itself, is part of the governor’s administration.
This summer, lawmakers rejected a Republican assemblyman’s request to have the state’s independent auditor investigate the DMV. Now the Democratic assemblywoman who wrote the law creating the new motor voter system said she is going to ask for one when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
“We gave them plenty of time. We increased their budget twice in order to implement this. We allowed them to delay implementation because we wanted it done right,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher of San Diego.
“When they told us they were ready, obviously they weren’t quite ready.”
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Erica Forsberg’s Gut Reaction Lab
SDSU’s Research Horizons series highlights early career
faculty and their burgeoning research projects.
Why do we get that sinking feeling in our stomach when we are nervous?
San Diego State University chemistry professor Erica Forsberg is attempting to answer this question by analyzing how the bacteria in our guts communicate with our brains.
Her “gut reaction” lab studies how the beneficial bacteria in our guts produce compounds that alter how we feel and how our brains function. She plans to expand this research by looking at how diets, drugs or disease alter how gut bacteria affect neurological health.
Forsberg came to SDSU in 2017, after spending two years as a research scientist at The Scripps Research Institute.
Watch the video:
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Fallbrook multifamily property
sold for $9.6 million
Casa Loma, a 48-unit multifamily community located at 218 West Clemmens Lane in Fallbrook, has sold for $6.9 million to Efren R. Cota Ltd., a private investment company. The seller was Woodspear Properties, a commercial real estate investment company.
Built in 1975, Casa Loma is a two-story, garden-style community with a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom units.
The seller was represented by Kidder Mathews. The buyer was represented by Bob Cota Realty.
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LEAD San Diego’s ‘Leader Match’
connects grads with board service
and volunteer opportunities
When empowered with the right tools, great leaders step up willingly. That is a driving belief of LEAD San Diego, which on Thursday introduced its newest tool in cultivating the region’s most effective leaders: Leader Match, presented by Cox Communications.
Leader Match is a volunteer matching service that connects LEAD Alumni Association members with opportunities from partner nonprofits to serve on boards, commissions, committees and to fill skills-based volunteer needs.
“LEAD has a long history of inspiring and equipping civically-minded community leaders and now, the power of the LEAD programs can continue long after participants graduate our programs,” said Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, of which LEAD is an affiliate. “Leader Match is a resource for our graduates and the San Diego community – both will benefit from the opportunity to put the knowledge and leadership skills gained in LEAD programs to work throughout the region.”
Leader Match was unveiled Thursday at a launch event at Park & Rec attended by LEAD Alumni Association members, recent graduates, and board members. The new program allows LEAD program graduates who join the Alumni Association to continue their leadership journey by tapping into a database of diverse skills and experience-based opportunities with organizations throughout the San Diego region. The new database is searchable by keyword, allowing participants to tailor their search to their specific areas of interest. All graduates of LEAD programs are welcome to join the Alumni Association for access to Leader Match.
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VStar Systems announces integration
of MA-C System into manned aircraft
VStar Systems, a privately held aerospace and defense systems company based in San Diego, announces the integration of its MA-C System into a manned aircraft for operational use. VStar is providing several new capabilities by integrating its MA-C System into a Gulfstream aircraft for initial testing and eventual operational missions, allowing warfighters to gather new, unmatched intelligence.
“This is a great opportunity for VStar to provide new capabilities and technology that have not been used before,” said Andy von Stauffenberg, CEO of VStar Systems. “The VStar team is excited to provide groundbreaking innovations and new solutions to decade-old problems for the Intelligence Community.”
Initial integration of the sensor into the aircraft has been completed and is currently undergoing system level testing and checkout in preparation for future deployments missions around the world.
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Northrop Grumman awarded Navy
contract for EA-18G Aircraft system upgrades
GovCon Wire
Northrop Grumman’s mission systems business has landed a potential five-year, $697 million contract to update system configuration sets of the EA-18G Growler aircraft for the U.S. Navy and Australia as a foreign military sales customer.
The company will also augment airborne electronic attack and warfare systems, and apply the final updates of the EA-6B Prowler system under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, the Defense Department said.
The service branch will obligate an initial allotment of $996,900 in fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds.
Work will take place at locations in California, Maryland, New York and Illinois through October 2023.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division issued the sole-source contract.
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USD Ranks Highest in state for
business, management and marketing
Students planning to earn an undergraduate business degree can attend a top-ranked school in California by choosing the University of San Diego, according to College Factual.
The USD School of Business is ranked 8th nationally in the category of “Best Colleges Offering Business, Management and Marketing Degrees,” and No. 1 in California. The ranking includes factors such as salaries after graduation, graduation rates and loan default rates.
“These rankings highlight the outstanding learning environment including small classes, cutting-edge curriculum and opportunities for international study that position our undergraduates for success in the business world,” said USD School of Business Associate Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs, Stephen Conroy.
For students planning to major in accounting, USD’s program is No. 1 in San Diego, No. 2 in California and 15th in the nation, according to College Factual.
USD also ranks No. 1 in the country for real estate.
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Personnel Announcements
Gloria Corral joins PIQE as CEO
The Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) has named Gloria Corral as its new chief executive officer, effective in November. Corral will replace David Valladolid, who retired after 21 years with the National City nonprofit.
Corral brings decades of experience to the PIQE organization and a proven record of educational leadership. Her expertise in education policy along with her extensive knowledge of system integration is both from developing policy and implementing programs which has been informed by years of working with state departments of education, local and state nonprofits, advocacy organizations and large school districts. She holds an undergraduate degree from University of California San Diego and a master’s degree from the University of California Berkeley.
Most recently, Corral was the assistant executive director at First 5 San Diego where she led San Diego County’s Quality Early Learning efforts for the First 5 San Diego Commission along with other key initiatives for children 0-5 and their families. She has been working in early learning for the past 15 years in policy, program and advocacy.
Her passion for K-12 and higher education spans over 20 years and includes work at the U.S. Department of Education, the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as, First 5 San Francisco, Preschool California, Education Testing Service, and WestEd.
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Omar Suñer and Abraham Garcia join Oster and Associates
Oster and Associates announced the addition of Omar Suñer and Abraham Garcia to its digital marketing team. Garcia and Suñer recently joined the San Diego-based advertising and public relations agency as digital marketing specialists.
Garcia, a native of Tijuana, is a gifted developer and self-taught programmer with over seven years of experience. He graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, spending much of his time auditing the accounting department’s informational and operational systems.
Garcia is fluent in multiple programming languages and loves developing websites. Early in his career he developed, and later sold, an invoicing system. He specializes in app development, product activation, product design and application program interfaces.
Suñer’s professional background spans more than two decades of web design and graphic design as a creative and strategic manager. He has launched over 1,000 websites, created 500 logos and developed hundreds of videos for several national and international brands. His prestigious client roster includes acclaimed movie director and producer Sir Ridley Scott (Scott Free Productions), actor Tyler Stokes (The Goldbergs) and news anchor Natalia Cruz (Univision Network), among others.
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Scott Andrews named president and CEO
of Neighborhood National Bank
Neighborhood National Bank announced that Scott R. Andrews has been appointed president and CEO and director of Neighborhood National Bank and Neighborhood Bancorp. Andrews is an experienced community bank chief executive officer with a banking career spanning over 42 years.
Andrews most recently was the president and CEO of Commerce Bank of Temecula Valley in Murrieta, Calif., and prior to that was the CEO of Pacific Commerce Bank in Los Angeles and Sunrise Bank in San Diego. During his career, he has assisted in the development of six de novo community banks and held executive management roles at community, regional and national banks.
